Global Kids Invention Challenge names winners

2/5/2013 7:43:00 PM

ePals Corporation (TSX-V: SLN) and the Smithsonian’s Lemelson Center for the Study of Invention and Innovation’s Spark!Lab announce today the 26 student winners and runners up in the 2012 Invent It! Challenge contest.

Students were challenged to come up with solutions to problems in their schools, to improve on inventions being used in their schools, or to invent solutions for larger real-world problems that exist today.

A Sampling of Winning Inventions

Winners and runners up were chosen from among hundreds of entries across different categories and age groups, all of which are highlighted at www.ePals.com, include:

A 13-year-old boy from Chapel Hill, N.C., and his construction of a portable transport vehicle for children and elderly refugees who must flee conflict and famine—that could save lives the world over;

A 9-year-old Mississippi girl’s prototype of a purse that has a solar-powered light inside, brightening the chances of finding your house keys;

A 16-year-old girl from Indiana’s development of an interactive homework-help ‘app’ for smartphones and handheld devices;

A 6-year-old child from Pennsylvania’s “turbo skraper” to make snow and ice removal from a car windshield easier than ever;

A 9-year-old New Jersey girl, affected by her grandfather’s Parkinson’s, invented a “sand sleeve” that is a wrist guard with sand in it, the weight of which steadies her grandfather’s hand so he can sign his name.

Patent Applications among Prizes

Prizes for selected winners in different categories include patent applications, which will be evaluated by the law firm Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough, LLP. Other prizes include LEGO sets, scholarships to Invent Now Inc.’s Camp Invention, class participation in a video chat with an inventor from the Lemelson Center, and more. Check out the full list of winners and runners up, and all of the Invent It! Challenge entries: http://en.community.epals.com/smithsonian_on_epals/p/inventionchallenge2012winners.aspx